Hello. Thanks for reading this. My mind is all over the place at the moment. Having had all kinds of weird and wonderful neurological symptoms I was referred for an mri of my brain and spine. The report came back as normal. My query really centres on the significance of this as I feel I am getting such mixed advice. The gp I am registered too said this means it can’t be MS. I went and saw a different GP one day for painkillers because my own doctor was off and she seemed to take a different approach and said mri is not the only diagnostic criteria and therefore it cannot be said I don’t have MS. I got a cancellation with the neuro the second gp referred me too. I described my symptoms and he said ‘ok let’s get you in for an mri’ when I told him I’d had one already last month and it was normal he said that very surely excludes MS regardless of what my symptoms are. I wish there was more consistency. How much weight can be given to a normal mri??
has the new neuro booked you in for ANY tests or not. to me neuros are like detectives using clues to lead to an investigation, but that’s my ms brain! keep on seeing your gp and tell about what you are going through. carole x
Quite a lot of the diagnostic criteria is dependent on MRI scans. If you’ve had a normal MRI, the neurologists will generally rule MS out as far as I know. And you’ve said it was brain and spine, so it seems there aren’t any lesions anywhere in your CNS.
Have a look at McDonald criteria | MS Trust This is the basis used for diagnosis of MS and it relies quite heavily on clinical evidence from in particular MRI scans.
So, I reckon if the neurologist has said you don’t have MS, based on the negative MRI scans, then you probably don’t. Neurologists tend to know a bit more than GPs.
However, if you still have symptoms, then you should have these investigated further. There are other problems apart from MS which present in similar ways. Perhaps you should go back to your GP and see what they have to say.
Sue
Hi,
A diagnosis of MS depends entirely on lesions being found in the brain or the spinal cord.
That is why your GP said it can’t be MS.
The second GP told you that an MRI is not the only diagnostic criteria. This is also true. A lumbar puncture, visuals and blood tests are also used in the diagnostic process.
However, for MS to be diagnosed there must be evidence of lesions, which can only be seen on an MRI.
In the absence of lesions your neurologist will be looking at other conditions to explain your symptoms.
Regards,
Anthony